Crew Fine With Dempsey Ads

If you’ve heard a radio advertisement for the Crew during the past two weeks, it’s safe to say
you know who will be coming to Crew Stadium this weekend.

Since the Crew’s last home game, the club has been running advertisements touting the fact that
Clint Dempsey and the Seattle Sounders will be coming to Columbus on August 31. The thrust of the
ad – “Come see Dempsey!” and not “Come see the Crew!” – got me wondering: what does the Crew think
about the campaign?

In short, it doesn't bother them.

“I don’t have a problem with it,” veteran defender Chad Marshall said. “He’s a big name. It’s a
recent event for the league, so marketing teams are going to play on that. I don’t have a problem
with it.”

Marshall’s comment summed up a common refrain from the Crew’s players. What’s good for the
league is good for the Crew, and vice-versa.

“My friend bought season tickets for Wigan Athletic because he wants to see the other stars, not
Wigan,” coach Robert Warzycha said. “That’s one way to do it because he couldn’t afford to buy a
Manchester United ticket.”

Warzycha was quick to point out that Dempsey is not the only opponent to feature in a Crew
promotional campaign over the years, citing David Beckham while he was with the Los Angeles
Galaxy.

I noted that Beckham rarely came to Crew Stadium, and Warzycha replied with a smile, “He came
once, he lost 3-0 and that’s why he never came again.”

Ironically, Dempsey’s mug adorns half the north side of Crew Stadium in an advertisement for the
United States’ World Cup qualifying match against Mexico on Sept. 10 at Crew Stadium. The banner
was hung weeks before Dempsey signed with the Sounders.

The Crew has around 1,500 tickets remaining for the match, and it could be the team's biggest
home crowd of the season, a spokesperson told me.

And should the Crew score, midfielder Justin Meram said he knows the reaction the team would get
inside a crowded Crew Stadium – while poking a little fun at himself.

“I don’t really pay attention (to the ads),” he said. “If you say, ‘Come see Justin Meram,’ the
stadium might be empty, you know what I mean? He’s a big name and he well deserves it. He starred
in this league and made a name for himself (overseas). It’s good in a way that it’s going to bring
everyone out to the game and I’m sure they want to come see Clint Dempsey but if we score versus
them scoring I think I know who they’ll be cheering for.”